5 days until Premier League season begins on NBC Sports

By Joe Prince-WrightAug 12, 2013, 4:40 PM EDT

The countdown has begun. Get excited folks, it all kicks off later this week.

You should have realized by now, but here’s another reminder that the 2013-14 Premier League season is creeping up on us.

Over the past week at ProSoccerTalk, we’ve been working our little socks off previewing all the teams and looking at how the season will pan out. Check out all our Premier League previews here.

So, five days from today – Saturday, August 17 – NBC Sports Group kicks off the most ambitious, extensive and comprehensive coverage of the Premier League available anywhere in the world.

PREMIER LEAGUE NUMBER OF THE DAY: 5

5 current players have scored more than 120 career Premier League goals: Robin van Persie (122), Nicolas Anelka (123), Jermain Defoe (123), Wayne Rooney (156), and Frank Lampard (165).

And talking of all those current Premier League greats, here’s a former star, NBC Sports Group’s Premier League analyst Lee Dixon. He caught up with NBC before the start of the season to answer a few questions:

What I am most looking forward to this Premier League season is…

A more competitive race for the title. It’s very interesting with what is happening in the transfer window at the moment. People ask me who I think will win the league, but the fact that the window doesn’t close for another three weeks makes it impossible to decide. With Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez, and Wayne Rooney there are still some massive moves to happen, but to where?

Before I go on air, I need…

A cup of tea! Ha. Notes are done. Prep is complete. I always find the first five minutes of a game very interesting with the formations, energy levels and tempo of each team. It sets the game. I concentrate on this period very intently as it’s very important, which normally makes me quite focused and irritable pre-match!

There is no way…

Manchester United will have it as easy as they did last year. Manchester City were complacent after their win in 2012. Not this year.

The game that I’m looking forward to in the first few months of the season is…

The first one I’m calling! Swansea v. Manchester United (12:30 PM ET on NBC). What a great start to NBC’s coverage of the Barclays Premier League.

If I’m not watching soccer…

I like to ride my bike; I’m a very keen cyclist. I will probably be riding to some of the stadiums during the season — cut down on NBC expenses!

Coverage begins Saturday at 7 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Network with the Liverpool-Stoke City match and continues throughout the season on the networks of NBCUniversal, on the Premier League Extra Time bonus TV package, and streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra.

NBC Sports Group will make available in the United States all 380 games from the Premier League. That’s more than anywhere else on the globe (including the U.K.). All games will be preceded and followed by Premier League Live pre- and post-match shows from the NBC Sports Group International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn.

Follow @JPW_NBCSports

EURO 2024 qualification live! EURO qualifiers schedule, updates, standings

By Nicholas MendolaMar 25, 2023, 11:34 AM EDT

EURO 2024 qualifying is here, and you’re in the right spot for groups, fixtures, and results.

Italy outlasted England in penalty kicks to win EURO 2020 and is bidding to become the first repeat winner since Spain in 2008 and 2012.

[ MORE: Breaking down Premier League title race ]

England is still seeking its first European Championship and will be favored to emerge from Group C with aforementioned Italy as well as Ukraine, North Macedonia, and Malta.

Netherlands and France are also in a spicy group that has dark horse Republic of Ireland and former champions Greece, as well as Gibraltar.

[ MORE: Live scores, updates, standings from EURO 2024 qualifying ]

A number of nations have guaranteed themselves no worse than a playoff spot due to their performances in the UEFA Nations League: Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Spain, Scotland, Georgia, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia, Kazakhstan.

EURO 2024 qualifying schedule

Thursday, March 23

Kazakhstan 1-2 Slovenia
Slovakia 0-0 Luxembourg
Italy 1-2 England – Video, player ratings as Kane breaks Rooney record
Denmark 3-1 Finland
Portugal 4-0 Liechtenstein
San Marino 0-2 Northern Ireland
North Macedonia 2-1 Malta
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 Iceland

Friday, March 24

Bulgaria 0-1 Montenegro
Gibraltar 0-3 Greece
Moldova 1-1 Faroe Islands
Serbia 2-0 Lithuania
Austria 4-1 Azerbaijan
Sweden 0-3 Belgium
Czech Republic 3-1 Poland
France 4-0 Netherlands

Saturday, March 25

Scotland vs Cyprus — 10am ET
Israel vs Kosovo — 1pm ET
Armenia vs Turkey — 1pm ET
Belarus vs Switzerland — 1pm ET
Spain vs Norway — 3:45pm ET
Croatia vs Wales — 3:45pm ET
Andorra vs Romania — 3:45pm ET

Sunday, March 26

Kazakhstan vs Denmark — 9am ET
England vs Ukraine — Noon ET
Liechtenstein vs Iceland — Noon ET
Slovenia vs San Marino — Noon ET
Slovakia vs Bosnia and Herzegovina — 2:45pm ET
Northern Ireland vs Finland — 2:45pm ET
Luxembourg vs Portugal — 2:45pm ET
Malta vs Italy — 2:45pm ET

Monday, March 27

Montenegro vs Serbia — 2:45pm ET
Netherlands vs Gibraltar — 2:45pm ET
Poland vs Albania — 2:45pm ET
Austria vs Estonia — 2:45pm ET
Sweden vs Azerbaijan — 2:45pm ET
Moldova vs Czech Republic — 2:45pm ET
Hungary vs Bulgaria — 2:45pm ET
Republic of Ireland vs France — 2:45pm ET

Tuesday, March 28

Georgia vs Norway — Noon ET
Wales vs Latvia — 2:45pm ET
Romania vs Belarus — 2:45pm ET
Switzerland vs Israel — 2:45pm ET
Kosovo vs Andorra — 2:45pm ET
Turkey vs Croatia — 2:45pm ET
Scotland vs Spain — 2:45pm ET

EURO 2024 qualifying standings

Group A

Spain
Scotland
Norway
Georgia
Cyprus

Group B

Netherlands
France
Republic of Ireland
Greece
Gibraltar

Group C

Italy
England
Ukraine
North Macedonia
Malta

Group D

Croatia
Wales
Armenia
Turkey
Latvia

Group E

Poland
Czech Republic
Albania
Faroe Islands
Moldova

Group F

Belgium
Austria
Sweden
Azerbaijan
Estonia

Group G

Hungary
Serbia
Montenegro
Bulgaria
Lithuania

Group H

Denmark
Finland
Slovenia
Kazakhstan
Northern Ireland
San Marino

Group I

Switzerland
Israel
Romania
Kosovo
Belarus
Andorra

Group J

Portugal
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Iceland
Luxembourg
Slovakia
Liechtenstein

Follow @NicholasMendola

Premier League relegation scrap: Current form, fixtures, odds, predictions

By Nicholas MendolaMar 25, 2023, 11:32 AM EDT

The Premier League relegation scrap needs some serious paring down, as a remarkably-high nine teams sit within four points of 20th place on the 2022-23 Premier League table.

That means we’re set, at least for now, for more relegation six-pointers than at any time in recent memory — many of them, you’ll see below, will involve Bournemouth — and the odds are in favor of a relatively surprising team heading down to the Championship.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

As for now Everton, Leeds, and Saints are the form teams in the fight, while Leicester and Crystal Palace sure could use a win.

Will the Premier League’s current bottom three of Bournemouth, West Ham and Southampton still be there when the season ends?

Below you’ll see the latest standings, the fixtures for the teams still in danger of dropping into the second tier, relegation odds, and our prediction for who will collect how many points.

Closest Premier League relegation scrap in history?

As the table below shows, after at least 26 matches of a PL season this is the tightest it has ever been between 12th place and 20th place.

Just four points separates almost half of the Premier League.

Premier League table, current form (March 19, 2023)

Latest Premier League standings on NBCSports.com

Remaining fixtures for relegation scrappers

Wolves: Forest (A), Chelsea (H), Brentford (H), Leicester (A), Palace (H), Brighton (A), Villa (H), Man Utd (A), Everton (H), Arsenal (A)

Crystal Palace: Leicester (H), Leeds (A), Southampton (A), Everton (H), Wolves (A), West Ham (H), Spurs (A), Bournemouth (H), Fulham (A), Forest (H)

Leicester City: Palace (A), Villa (H), Bournemouth (H), Man City (A), Wolves (H), Leeds (A), Everton (H), Fulham (A), Liverpool (H), Newcastle (A), West Ham (H)

West Ham: Southampton (H), Newcastle (H), Fulham (A), Arsenal (H), Bournemouth (A), Liverpool (H), Palace (A), Man Utd (H), Brentford (A), Leeds (H), Leicester (A)

Nottingham Forest: Wolves (H), Leeds (A), Villa (A), Man Utd (H), Liverpool (A), Brighton (H), Brentford (A), Southampton (H), Chelsea (A), Arsenal (H), Palace (A)

Leeds: Arsenal (A), Forest (H), Palace (H), Liverpool (H), Fulham (A), Leicester (H), Bournemouth (A), Man City (A), Newcastle (H), West Ham (A), Spurs (H)

Everton: Spurs (H), Man Utd (A), Fulham (H), Palace (A), Newcastle (H), Leicester (A), Brighton (A), Man City (H), Wolves (A), Bournemouth (H)

Southampton: West Ham (A), Man City (H), Palace (H), Arsenal (A), Bournemouth (H), Newcastle (A), Forest (A), Fulham (H), Brighton (A), Liverpool (H)

Bournemouth: Fulham (H), Brighton (H), Leicester (A), Spurs (A), West Ham (H), Southampton (A), Leeds (H), Chelsea (H), Palace (A), Man Utd (H), Everton (A)

Key fixtures that will decide the Premier League relegation scrap

Saturday, March 18: Wolves 2-4 Leeds – RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday, April 1: AFC Bournemouth vs Fulham — 10am ET
Saturday, April 1: Crystal Palace vs Leicester — 10am ET
Saturday, April 1: Nottingham Forest vs Wolves — 10am ET
Sunday, April 2: West Ham vs Southampton — 9am ET
Tuesday, April 4: Leeds vs Nottingham Forest — 2:45pm ET
Saturday, April 8: Leicester vs AFC Bournemouth — 10am ET
Saturday, April 8: Leeds vs Crystal Palace — 12:30pm ET
Saturday, April 15: Southampton vs Crystal Palace — 10am ET
Saturday, April 22: Crystal Palace vs Everton — 10am ET
Saturday, April 22: Leicester vs Wolves — 10am ET
Sunday, April 23: AFC Bournemouth vs West Ham — 9am ET
Tuesday, April 25: Wolves vs Crystal Palace — 2:30pm ET
Tuesday, April 25: Leeds vs Leicester — 2:45pm ET
Thursday, April 27: Southampton vs AFC Bournemouth — 2:45pm ET
Saturday, April 29: Crystal Palace vs West Ham — 7:30am ET
Sunday, April 30: AFC Bournemouth vs Leeds — 9am ET
Monday, May 1: Leicester vs Everton — 3pm ET
Saturday, May 6: Nottingham Forest vs Southampton — Time TBD
Saturday, May 13: Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth — Time TBD
Saturday, May 20: West Ham vs Leeds — Time TBD
Sunday, May 28: Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest — Time TBD
Sunday, May 28: Everton vs AFC Bournemouth — Time TBD
Sunday, May 28: Leicester vs West Ham — Time TBD

Premier League title odds (As of March 24, 2023)

(Our betting partner is BetMGM) BetMGM is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on BetMGM for the first time after clicking our links.

Crystal Palace: +450
West Ham: +400
Leicester City: +350
Wolves: +300
Leeds: +275
Everton: +160
Nottingham Forest: +100
Bournemouth: -200
Southampton: -225

Prediction for Premier League relegation scrap

12. Wolves, 40 points
13. West Ham, 39 points
14. Palace, 39 points
15. Leicester, 37 points
16. Everton, 36 points
17. Nottingham Forest, 35 points
18. Leeds, 35 points
19. Southampton, 35 points
20. Bournemouth, 31 points

Follow @NicholasMendola

Premier League title race: Current form, key fixtures, injuries, odds, predictions

By Joe Prince-WrightMar 25, 2023, 11:30 AM EDT

The Premier League title race is going down to the wire in the 2022-23 season and there are some huge games coming up between now and the final day on May 28.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Can Arsenal win the first Premier League title since 2003-04? Will Manchester City win three in a row to make it five titles in the last six seasons under Pep Guardiola?

For a while it looked like Manchester United could come from nowhere to stun everyone and secure their first title in a decade, but they have regressed in recent weeks and it is now truly a two-horse race between Arsenal and Man City.

Below is a look at the key fixtures, current form, odds and predictions for the contenders to be crowned Premier League champions.

Remaining fixtures for title contenders

Arsenal (69 points through 28 games): Leeds (H), Liverpool (A), West Ham (A), Southampton (H), Man City (A), Chelsea (H), Newcastle (A), Brighton (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Wolves (H)

Manchester City (61 points through 27 games): Liverpool (H), Southampton (A), Leicester City (H), Brighton (A), Arsenal (H), Fulham (A), Leeds (H), Everton (A), Chelsea (H), West Ham (H), Brentford (A)

Key fixtures that will decide the Premier League title

Saturday, April 1: Manchester City vs Liverpool – 7:30am ET
Sunday, April 2: Newcastle vs Manchester United – 11:30am ET
Sunday, April 9: Arsenal vs Liverpool – 11:30am ET
Wednesday, April 26: Manchester City vs Arsenal – 3pm ET
Thursday, April 27: Tottenham vs Manchester United – 3:15pm ET
Saturday, April 29: Arsenal vs Chelsea – 12:30pm ET
Saturday, May 6: Newcastle vs Arsenal – 10am ET
Saturday, May 20: Manchester City vs Chelsea – 10am ET

Current form (As of March 20, 2023)

Arsenal’s last 5 results: WWWWW
Manchester City’s last 5 results: WWWDW

Current Premier League table

Head to NBC Sports’s soccer standings home page

Key injuries

Arsenal: Mohamed Elneny (no return date), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Eddie Nketiah (ankle), William Saliba (back)

Manchester City: None

Premier League title odds (As of March 24, 2023)

(Betting odds provided by our partner, BetMGM ) BetMGM is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on BetMGM for the first time after clicking our links.

Arsenal: -165
Manchester City: +138
Manchester United: +10000

Prediction for Premier League title race

1. Manchester City – 87 points (Win the title on goal difference)
2. Arsenal – 87 points
3. Manchester United – 78 points

Follow @JPW_NBCSports

Arsenal title tracker – What do Gunners need to win the Premier League?

By Joe Prince-WrightMar 25, 2023, 11:30 AM EDT

Eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table with 10 games to go, what do Arsenal need to win their first Premier League title in 19 years?

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Mikel Arteta has his young side on the cusp of a pretty remarkable and very unexpected Premier League title win.

With a solid defensive unit, perfectly balanced midfield and the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard having fine campaigns in the final third, there is so much to love about this Arsenal team.

[ MORE: Latest Premier League table for 2022-23 season ]

But how, and when, can Arsenal seal the Premier League title they crave? How many points do they need to gain? What are the scenarios based on their huge game against Manchester City in April?

How many points do Arsenal need to win the Premier League title?

With 10 games remaining, there are many different ways the Gunners can win the Premier League title.

In its simplest form: if Arsenal win nine of their final 10 games they will be crowned Premier League games.

The magic number for Arsenal to reach is 95 points. If they reach 95 points, Manchester City cannot catch them.

But if Man City beat Arsenal in their huge game at the Etihad on April 26 and win their game in-hand, Arsenal will need to win all nine of their other remaining game to be sure of the title. That would give them 96 points and Man City could only finish on 94.

If Arsenal drew against Man City then Man City could only finish on a maximum of 92 points. That means Arsenal would need eight wins from their remaining nine games to win the title as they would have 94 points.

If Arsenal win at Man City then Man City would only be able to reach 91 points. So, Arsenal would only have to win seven of their other nine remaining games to seal the title.

All of this proves just how massive the Manchester City vs Arsenal game on April 26 is in deciding the title winner.

When did Arsenal last win the Premier League?

They last won the Premier League title in the 2003-04 season, the famous ‘Invincibles’ campaign as they didn’t lose any of their 38 games that season.

Think Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg, Sol Campbell and Robert Pires in full flow and Arsene Wenger with a huge smile on his face on the sidelines. Magnificent.

When did Arsenal last win a trophy?

The last trophy Arsenal won was the FA Cup in the 2019-20 season, they also won the FA Community Shield in 2020.

Both of those trophies were won by current boss Mikel Arteta.

Which trophies have Arsenal won?

Here are the list of trophies the Gunners have won in their history:

FA Cup (14 – Record)
Premier League/First Division titles (13)
League Cup (2)
FA Community Shield (16)
European Cup Winners’ Cup (1)
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1)

Follow @JPW_NBCSports

Premier League news

EURO 2024 qualifying schedule

EURO 2024 qualifying standings

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Group I

Group J

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Premier League

Closest Premier League relegation scrap in history?

Premier League table, current form (March 19, 2023)

Remaining fixtures for relegation scrappers

Key fixtures that will decide the Premier League relegation scrap

Premier League title odds (As of March 24, 2023)

Prediction for Premier League relegation scrap

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Latest Premier League news

Remaining fixtures for title contenders

Key fixtures that will decide the Premier League title

Current form (As of March 20, 2023)

Current Premier League table

Key injuries

Premier League title odds (As of March 24, 2023)

Prediction for Premier League title race

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Latest Premier League news

How many points do Arsenal need to win the Premier League title?

When did Arsenal last win the Premier League?

When did Arsenal last win a trophy?

Which trophies have Arsenal won?